Pizza Rustica is a savory meat and cheese pie traditionally served during the Easter holiday. It’s also known as pizzagaina, pizza gain, Easter pie, or simply Italian meat pie. Of course every family has their own special way of making it.
It consists of a sturdy dough that can handle all the filling which includes an assortment of cured meats, Italian sausage and various Italian cheeses.
The original recipe is actually double the amounts that I’m posting here, it feeds a crowd. my family recipe was always made in a deep 13 x 9 pan.
For this recipe I cut all the ingredients in half and used a 10 inch spring form pan, easy to un-mold and it always gives you clean edges, and believe me it feeds many.
The deep golden crust is amazing, it also has black pepper sprinkled throughout which adds so much flavor in combination with the filling.
Speaking of the filling, my family’s passed down recipe was always made with Italian sausage, a mix of hot and mild, hard boiled eggs, a special cheese called Tuma, ( which can be substituted if you can’t find it, but if you live in the Chicagoland area you’ll find it at Caputo’s and other Italian grocers) and grated pecorino romano. By the way don’t be afraid to use hot sausage because the filling is so dense you’ll hardly notice the spiciness.
It’s rustic, dense and deliciously indulgent!
When you cut into it the slices stay oh so perfect! You can cut into wedges or thin slices.
Serve it at room temperature for an Easter brunch, lunch or just a very special treat.
Enjoy!
- DOUGH
- 4 cups flour
- 5 beaten eggs
- 1 -1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1- ½ teaspoons black pepper
- ¼ cup of vegetable shortening
- water if needed to make a smooth consistency
- FILLING
- 2 lbs.of Italian sausage ,use a mix of 1 lb. hot and 1 lb. mild or medium or all hot or all mild whatever you like, browned with casings removed
- 1 lb. tuma cheese, diced. if you can't find it use a mix of provolone and mozzarella or just mozzarella but not fresh mozzarella, the brick kind. If in the Chicagoland area Caputo's always has it or call head to other Italian grocery stores.
- 6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 cup grated pecorino romano
- 2 eggs beaten
- ***********
- 1 egg yolk mixed with a little water to egg wash the top for a nice golden color
- Olive oil spray your spring form pan.
- Pre-heat oven to 325
- Dough
- Use a giant bowl and add your flour, salt and pepper.Work the shortening in next, then add the eggs and mix well until incorporated. Use water if necessary to make the dough nice and smooth.
- FILLING
- Toss all the ingredients together in one big bowl. Mix well.
- Roll the dough out to fit into the pan and let it overlap over the sides slightly.Save enough to cover the top.
- Add all your filling pressing down while adding it in.
- Place the rest of the dough you saved for the top, roll it out and place it on top of the filling.
- Then roll the sides up to meet the top, just make sure the border is not overly thick, you might have to trim a little if your over hang was too long.
- If you have dough scraps you can make a cross or do the leaves I placed on mine for a pretty decoration on top.
- Brush the egg yolk mixture all over the top for a beautiful shiny gloss.
- Place the spring form pan on a baking sheet for ease in and out of the oven or for any leakage.
- Bake for about 1- ½ hours or until very golden and hollow sounding when you tap on top.
- Let it cool 3 hours before releasing the ring on the pan, but better yet just cover the top with and chill the whole pan in the fridge overnight.
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